December 26, 2019

The American left is divided on abortion

topic:	Women's rights
located:	USA
editor:	Yair Oded

As the crackdown on reproductive rights in the United States continues, the left struggles to keep the anti-abortion tide in check. This is primarily a result of growing chasms within the pro-choice movement. A thorough investigation by The New York Times revealed that class differences among the left slow down the movement and prevent it from securing women’s access to abortion services and shift the trajectory of the battle in its favour on a national level. 

As pointed out by The Times, conservative effort to terminate access to abortion has been ongoing for years. During the Obama era, when the White House largely defended women’s access to abortion, Republicans prepared the ground by resorting to gerrymandering and packing state legislatures and courts with conservative lawmakers and judges who passed and upheld restrictions on abortions. Trump’s victory in 2016 simply allowed the anti-abortion movement to come out of the shadows and charge ahead with increased vigor and speed.

Over the past six months, a growing number of states in the South and Midwest passed what is known as ‘heartbeat bills’ that all but prohibit abortion in their territory. 

This coming March, the Supreme Court will hear its first abortion case since Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that granted women across the US the right to access abortion. The nomination of two conservative justices to the bench by President Trump, however, casts a grave threat over the survival of Roe v. Wade. 

In this hostile climate, the left is struggling to launch a unified counter-attack and effectively secure women’s reproductive rights. This is primarily caused by rifts between large reproductive rights organisations, such as Planned Parenthood, and small private clinics that, reportedly, perform about 60 per cent of abortions in the United States. 

Labeled as the country’s leading crusader for women’s reproductive rights, Planned Parenthood is among the organisations receiving the most attention and donations. And while it does provide a whole slew of critical healthcare services as well as maintaining a vigorous legal battle against states that ban abortions, Planned Parenthood does not perform the majority of abortions in the country. In some states, such as Alabama and North Dakota, it presently performs none. 

All the while, small practices that deliver the vast majority of abortion services in southern and middle America are left largely underfunded and ignored by major organisations like Planned Parenthood and national leaders. 

Many providers blame Planned Parenthood for placing its primary focus on fundraising, maintaining political fights and amassing power instead of supporting small clinics and vulnerable women in need of help. 

Gloria Gray, who heads the West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa, told the New York Times that, “With the national organizations… we seem to be left out.” This is also evident during national conferences on the issue where directors of small private practices are all but ignored and their concerned are reportedly being cast aside.

Small practices and activists from poorer states rarely make such criticisms publicly, seeing as Planned Parenthood has come to be treated as an entity beyond reproach by many on the left, and since the organisation constitutes the main driving-force behind courtroom battles to strike down anti-abortion laws. 

All the while, anti-abortion factions in the US grow stronger and their budgets swell up as they execute highly-effective campaigns. Pro-choice organisations are trying to keep up and change their campaigning and outreach tactics by investing more in other aspects of reproductive rights to pull support away from conservative groups. Yet, disagreements over what the strategy changes should look like continue to impede the movement.

Democrats have largely rallied behind the pro-choice movement, but the overall discussion on the left lacks nuance and flexibility. It is clear that there needs to be change on a broad level when it comes to the fight for reproductive rights - beginning with how we discuss the issue and address its complexities, and how we then translate them all into policy.

Without such large-scale changes, the fight for reproductive rights will stand no chance. Yet, while shifting the focus of the discussion to a more holistic vantage point, it is important to maintain the support of small providers and groups, ensuring they have the financial means to survive and include their unique challenges and perspectives in the discourse. 

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